HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law 8216-25The Corporation of the City of Pickering
By-law No. 8216/25
Being a by-law to adopt Amendment 52 to the Official Plan for
the City of Pickering (OPA 25-002P)
Whereas pursuant to the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.p. 13, subsections 17(22) and 21(1), the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering may by by-law adopt amendments to the Official Plan for the City of Pickering;
Whereas the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering deems it advisable to amend
the Official Plan of the City of Pickering;
1.Now therefore the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering hereby enacts asfollows: That Amendment 52 to the Official Plan for the City of Pickering, attached
hereto as Exhibit “A”, is hereby adopted;
2.This By-law shall come into force and take effect on the day of the final passing hereof.
By-law passed this 15th day of December, 2025.
________________________________ Kevin Ashe, Mayor
________________________________ Susan Cassel, City Clerk
Original Signed By
Original Signed By
Exhibit “A” to By-law 8216/25
Amendment 52
to the City of Pickering Official Plan
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan
Purpose: The purpose of this Amendment is fourfold. The first revises policies in the Official Plan to recognize the delegation of land division responsibilities, and the approval authority to grant consents, from the Region of Durham to the City of Pickering. This is provisioned under section 53 of the Planning Act.
The second replaces the policies in the Official Plan mandating pre-consultation
meetings, between an applicant and City staff, prior to submission of a development application, with policies encouraging such pre-consultation meetings, making them voluntary and at the discretion of the applicant.
The third revises Parkland Dedication policies. This is provisioned under Section 42
and Section 51.1 of the Planning Act, which reduced the parkland dedication rate
for high density and mixed-use areas and the cash-in-lieu of parkland rate for all development.
The fourth removes the Density Bonusing policies.
Location: The Amendment applies to all lands within the City of Pickering.
Basis: The basis for the City-initiated Official Plan Amendment is as follows:
The revised policies, recognizing the delegation of land division responsibilities and the approval authority to grant consents from the Region to the City of Pickering, stems from revisions to the Planning Act through Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster
Act, 2022. Among other matters, this Act reclassified the Region of Durham,
including six other regional municipalities in Ontario, as “Upper Tier Municipalities
without Planning Responsibilities”.
The replacement of the policies ‘requiring’ pre-consultation meetings between the City and the applicant, with policies ‘encouraging’ pre-consultation meetings, is based on revisions to the Planning Act through Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build
More Homes Act, 2024.
The revised policies regarding Parkland Dedication result from revisions to the
Planning Act through Bill 109, More homes for Everyone Act, 2022.
The removal of policies pertaining to Density Bonusing is based on revisions to the
Planning Act through Bill 197, COVID 19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020.
Actual Amendment: The City of Pickering Official Plan is hereby amended by:
New text is shown as underlined text, deleted text is shown as strikeout text, and retained is shown as unchanged text
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan Page 4
1.Revising City Policy 5.8, in Chapter 5 – Economic Development, so that it reads asfollows:
City Policy Financial Incentives
5.8 City Council shall consider an incentive program to encourage green building design in any new development in the City Centre, which may include density bonuses, loans, development charge reduction, Community Improvement Plan grants or an expedited development application review process.
2.Revising City Policy 11.49, in Chapter 11 – Seaton Urban Area by deleting subsection
(b)so that it reads as follows, and renumbering the subsequent subsections:
City Policy Affordable Strategies for Lower Income Tenants and Owners
11.49 City Council recognizes that most new affordable rental housing and some new affordable ownership housing directed at larger owner households in the bottom 30th percentile of owner households, will require some type of subsidy or incentive to reach required ownership or rent levels affordable to low income households. Such assistance could include:
(a)…;
(b)using density bonusing at selected sites where a builder provides acertain proportion of rental or subsidized ownership units asaffordable;
(cb) providing…;
(dc)using…; etc.
3.Revising City Policy 12.15(c)(ii), in Chapter 12 – Urban Neighbourhoods so that it readsas follows:
City Policy Brock Ridge Neighbourhood Policies
12.15 City Council shall:
(c)…:
(i)…; and
(ii)acknowledge the landowners’ interest in developing higherdensity development and to this end, shall consider the use ofdensity bonuses to achieve community design and othermunicipal objectives (in accordance with Section 16.17 of thisPlan), in addition to density transfers as set out in Section(12.15)(a) above.
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan Page 5
4.Revising City Policy 12.16(a)(iv), in Chapter 12 – Urban Neighbourhoods so that itreads as follows:
City Policy Rouge Park Neighbourhood Polices
12.16 City Council shall:
(a)…:
(i)…;
(ii)…;
(iii)…;
(iv)in accordance with Sections 16.17 and 16.18, permit the use ofdensity transfers and bonuses, as further detailed in theRouge Park Neighbourhood Development Guidelines;
(v)…; etc.
5.Revising City Policy 16.2, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that it reads as
follows:
City Policy Pre-submission Consultation
16.2 City Council shall require encourages applicants to consult with the municipality prior to submitting an application for an official plan
amendment, zoning by-law amendment, draft plan of subdivision, draft plan of condominium, consent or site plan approval. The pre-submission consultation meeting will be held with the applicant, City staff and any other government agency or public authority that the City determines appropriate. At the pre-submission consultation meeting:
6.Revising City Policy 16.3, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, by adding the word
“consent” in the policy pretext as well as in subsection (f), deleting subsection (c), andrenumbering the subsequent subsections, so that it reads as follows:
City Policy Complete Application
16.3 City Council shall not accept an application for an official plan amendment, zoning by-law amendment, draft plan of subdivision, draft plan of condominium, consent, or site plan approval until the following has been submitted to the City:
(a)a complete application form, including an acknowledgement by theapplicant of the obligation to pay required peer review costs, asreferred to in Section 16.4;
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan Page 6
(b)any information or materials prescribed by statute and regulation;
(c)a record of pre-submission consultation;
(dc)the prescribed application fee(s);
(ed) payment, or proof of payment of application review fees charged by
commenting agencies;
(fe) all required studies set out in Section 16.5A for an official plan amendment, zoning by-law amendment, consent, draft plan of subdivision and draft plan of condominium application; and
(gf) all required studies set out in Section 16.5B for a site plan
application.
7.Revising the subtext to City Policy 16.4, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that itreads as follows:
City Policy Required Studies for an Official Plan Amendment,
Zoning By-law Amendment, Consent, Draft Plan of Subdivision,
and Draft Plan of Condominium Approval
8.Revising City Policy 16.5A, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that it reads asfollows:
16.5A City Council shall require the following materials and studies prepared by
qualified experts, which may be as scoped or expanded as a result of the non-mandatory pre-submission consultation required by as provided for in Section 16.2, to be submitted at the time of application for an official plan amendment, zoning by-law amendment, draft plan of subdivision, consent and draft plan of condominium approval:
9.Revising City Policy 16.5B, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that it reads as
follows:
16.5B City Council shall require the following materials and studies prepared byqualified experts, which may be as scoped or expanded as a result of the non-mandatory pre-submission consultation as provided for by in Section
16.2, to be submitted at the time of application for site plan approval: …
10.Revising City Policy 16.8 in Chapter 16 – Development Review so that it reads asfollows:
16.8 City Council:
(a)as determined may determine through a non-mandatory pre-submission consultation as provided for as determined through apresubmission consultation in Section 16.2, to require thesubmission and approval of an Environmental Report as part of theconsideration of a development application or a public infrastructure
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan Page 7
project for major development within 120 metres of the Natural Heritage System or within the minimum area of influence prescribed in Table 18 of this Plan; and
(b)despite Section 16.8(a), may, through the non-mandatory pre-
submission consultation as provided for in Section 16.2, require thesubmission and approval of an Environmental Report as part of itsconsideration of any other development application or publicinfrastructure project.
11.Revising City Policy 16.13, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that it reads as
follows:
City Policy Retail Impact Study
16.13 Outside the City Centre, City Council, in the review of development proposals for new or expanded gross leasable floor space for the retailing
of goods and services:
(a)shall for the development of 2,500 square metres or greater of floorspace; and
(b)may for the development of less than 2,500 square metres of floorspace;
as determined through a non-mandatory pre-submission consultation as provided for in Section 16.2, require a retail impact study:
(i)to justify the proposed floor space for the retailing of goods andservices; and,
(ii)to demonstrate that such additional floor space will not unduly
affect the viability of any lands designated or developed for theretailing of goods and services.
12.Deleting City Policy 16.17 (Bonus Zoning) in Chapter 16 – Development Review in itsentirety and replacing it with the following:
City Policy
Bonus Zoning
16.17 Section Revoked by Amendment 52As provided for in the Planning Act, City Council may pass by-laws that grant an increase in density of development not exceeding 25 percent of the density that would otherwise be permitted by this Plan, or an increase in the height of a building providing:
(a)the density or height bonus is given only in return for the provisionof specific services, facilities or matters as specified in the by-law,such as but not limited to, additional open space or community
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan Page 8
facilities, assisted or special needs housing, the preservation of heritage buildings or structures, or the preservation of natural heritage features and functions;
(b)when considering an increase in density or height, and allowing the
provision of benefits off-site, the positive impacts of the exchangeshould benefit the social/cultural, environmental and economichealth of surrounding areas experiencing the increased heightand/or density;
(c)the effects of the density or height bonus have been reviewed and
determined by Council to be in conformity with the general intent ofthis Plan, by considering matters such as:
(i)the suitability of the site for the proposed increase in densityand/or height in terms of parking, landscaping, and other site-specific requirements;
(ii)and the compatibility of any increase in density and/or heightwith the character of the surrounding neighbourhood; and
(d)as a condition of granting a density or height bonus, the Cityrequires the benefiting landowner(s) to enter into one or moreagreements, registered against the title of the lands, dealing with the
provision and timing of specific facilities, services or matters to beprovided in return for the bonus.
13.Revising City Policy 16.25, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that it reads asfollows:
City Policy
Committee of Adjustment
16.25 City Council shall encourage its Committee of Adjustment to apply the goals, objectives and policies of this Plan, and maintain the purpose and
intent of the City’s zoning by-laws in making decisions regarding the granting of minor variances and consent applications pursuant to the
Planning Act.
14.Revising City Policy 16.26, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that it reads asfollows:
City Policy Land Severance
16.26 City Council, in commenting to the Regional Land Division Committee regarding the consideration of land severances pursuant to the Planning
Act or the Committee of Adjustment to whom the authority is delegated, to grant consents pursuant to the Planning Act: …
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan Page 9
15.Revising City Policy 16.29, in Chapter 16 – Development Review, so that it reads asfollows:
City Policy Parkland: Conveyance of Land for Park or
Other Public Recreational Purposes
16.29 City Council:
(a)shall as a condition of residential development, and may as acondition of other development, except for the uses described inSubsection (b):
(i)require the conveyance of land to the municipality for park orother public recreational purposes in an amount not exceeding5 percent of the proposed land to be developed;
(ii)may or, as an alternative to requiring conveyance of land asprovided for in (i) above, in the High Density Residential Areas
and Mixed Use Areas, require land to be conveyed for park orother public recreational purposes at a rate of up to one hectarefor each 300 600 dwelling units proposed, whichever is greater;
(iii)may or, in lieu of a portion or all of the land conveyancestipulated by (i) or (ii) above, require the payment of money to
the value of the land that would otherwise be required to beconveyed for park purposes at a rate of up to one hectare foreach 1,000 net dwelling units proposed;
(iv)provided that, for the alternative rate, the City shall not require aconveyance or payment in lieu that is greater than:
(1)in the case of land proposed for development or
redevelopment that is five hectares or less in area, 10
percent of the land or the value of the land, as the case may
be; and
(2)in the case of land proposed for development or
redevelopment that is greater than five hectares in area, 15
percent of the land or the value of the land, as the case may
be; and
(b)may, as a condition of commercial or industrial development:
(i)require the conveyance of land to the municipality for park orother public recreational purposes in an amount not exceeding2 percent of the proposed land to be developed; and
(ii)may, in lieu of a portion or all of the land conveyance stipulatedby (i) above, require the payment of money to the value of the
Amendment 52 to the Pickering Official Plan Page 10
land that would otherwise be required to be conveyed for park purposes; and
(c)shall not accept as parkland conveyance lands required for drainage;valley and stream corridor or shoreline protection purposes; lands
susceptible to flooding; steep valley slopes; hazard lands; landsrequired to be conveyed to a public agency other than the City ofPickering; and other lands unsuitable for park development.
Implementation: The provisions set forth in the City of Pickering Official Plan, as amended, regarding the implementation of the Plan shall apply in regard to this
Amendment.
Interpretation: The provisions set forth in the City of Pickering Official Plan, as amended, regarding the interpretation of the Plan shall apply in regard to this Amendment.
Cross Reference: OPA 25-002P